222 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



and "from Syria and Arabia it extends to Egypt and a great portion 

 of Africa." 



It measures from six to eight inches in length, and has a long 

 tufted tail. The fur is as a rule sandy colour, but the most interesting 

 feature of its structure is the difference in the length of the fore- and 

 hind-legs. It has but three of the toes on the hind-foot well devel- 

 oped, but elastic pads on the sole aid the little beast in skipping 

 over the ground in a remarkable way. It only uses the hind-limbs 

 when making its wonderful bounding movements, and attains a great 

 speed when thus engaged. 



It is a gregarious animal, dwelling in underground burrows 

 during the day, and coming out at night to feed. 



Major A. E. Stanton, in a paper read before the Royal Colonial 

 Institute on " Khartoom and the Sudan," says — 



"One of the most remarkable proofs of instinct in animals is to 

 be seen in these deserts. The Jerboa, or Kangaroo Rat, is found in 

 considerable numbers in places miles and miles away from any water 

 or even dew, and I was at a loss to understand how these little 

 animals could exist through the ten months of drought. It appears, 

 however, that after the scanty rains a small wild melon, of bitter 

 taste but full of juice, flourishes in the desert. The Jerboa, as soon 

 as the melon is ripe, bites off the stem and proceeds to dig away the 

 sand under the melon, so that it gradually sinks below the level of 

 the ground ; the constant wind soon covers it over with six or eight 

 inches of sand, which protects it from the scorching sun and from 

 drying up. When all other moisture has evaporated, the Jerboa 

 goes to his larder of melons and drinks the juice of these till the rains 

 come on again. One Jerboa will bury as many as forty of these little 

 melons to last him through the dry season." 



FAT MOUSE, AND FAT-TAILED DESERT MOUSE. —The Fat 

 Mouse (Fig. 172) and Fat-Tailed Desert Mouse (Fig. 173) are 

 worthy of mention here. The first-named is a native of South Africa, 

 and is so called because of its plump appearance. Little seems to 

 be known of its habits, and it has only once been represented at the 

 London Zoo. It is rather larger than the common House Mouse 

 and mostly brown in colour. At one time a happy family of Fat- 

 Tailed Desert Mice lived in the old Squirrel-house at Regent's 

 Park. Here they bred regularly and freely, but the stock has now 

 quite died out, and the Zoological Society has been without any for 

 five years or more. In size this Mouse is somewhat bigger than a 



